"Arthur?" asked Alan as he followed old Adrian to the back of the house.

Behind the hut there was a small stable-like house, and a strange creature was looking out of the little house with half of its body exposed, and it looked a little restless when it saw old Adrian coming.

"Good boy, good boy, don't be angry, my fault. Old Adrian touched its head as he opened the door, and Alan saw a strange creature much taller than him come out.

It has an eagle-like head, but has horse-like limbs and a tail, and a pair of wings at its shoulders. Its fur is mostly brown, but its head and wings are grayish-white.

Alan and it just glanced at each other, and they felt like an electric shock swept through their hearts.

"Mr. Audrian, what is this?" Alan took a few steps back, a little scared.

"Oh, he's Arthur, a phantasmaginous horse. A good fellow. Old Adrian touched Arthur's head, "Their race was endangered a long time ago, and it's hard to see it now...... He came across him by chance while I was passing through Tumon. He was very young at the time, his parents were not around, he was being chased by a Granner, and his leg was injured, and I saved him. ”

"What is Grantner?" asked Riel.

"A big, filthy reptile. They have no eyes, only a large mouth, are not small, live underground for many years, and only break through the ground when attacking their prey. They seem to have a keen sense of hearing, but they can clearly grasp your movements when they move underground, and then launch a shameful sneak attack from the dark underground......" Old Adrian was saying as Arthur pushed his head against him and whispered again, as if to express his displeasure.

"Oh, okay, okay, don't be angry, I'll give you early. With that, old Adrian raised his cane and brought a small wooden barrel behind the house with a levitation charm, and Alan looked inside, and it was full of dreados, and the thorns on his back had been removed.

"Arthur was a very quiet lad, and generally did not bark unless he was hungry or ...... Uh, he's going to be angry. Old Adrian took a fish out of the bucket and fed it to Arthur, and continued, "He is a good boy with affection, and since I began to feed him, he has been accustomed to eating with me, and even when I have caught a full bucket by the lake, he will not fill his stomach in advance...... This young man has been hooked on this fish since he came here, and he has a good appetite, so come on, you can feed him one. ”

Maybe Arthur was a little rude when he ate one bite at a time, and Alan was a little hesitant.

"Don't worry, he's very sensible, they're smart creatures, they're naturally sharp-eyed, and they can keenly sense whether you have any ill will towards him, and as long as you're friendly to him, he'll do the same to you. ”

Alan was a little relieved to hear old Adrian say this, and tried to pinch a dreadcanth from the bucket and carefully bring it to Arthur's mouth. It also seemed to realize that it should not move too much, and slowly latched the fish into its mouth and swallowed it. Alan reached out again and touched its head, and Arthur gently rubbed his head against Alan's face.

"Good, good, now you're friends too. Old Adrian nodded in satisfaction, smiled at Allen, and said, "I'll let him take you home later." ”

Rare stays alone around the campfire, waiting for Alan to return, and he eats the whole fish by himself. When he heard movement behind him, he turned around and saw Alan riding on Arthur's back and walking towards him, so frightened that he almost fell to the ground.

Old Adrian asked him to feed Arthur a fish as well, and then let Arthur lie on the ground, and Rare found that Arthur was not hostile to him, so he rode on his back with confidence.

"Alright, boys, it's time to say goodbye to you. Old Adrian smiled at them and said, "Arthur will bring you home safely according to your instructions." I think Mr. and Mrs. Connor will have a good night's sleep tonight. ”

"Thank you, Mr. Audrian. Riel said.

"That...... Mr. Audrian. Arthur flapped his wings and prepared to take off, when Alan suddenly spoke.

"What's the matter, kid?"

"Can we come back more often in the future?"

"Of course, whenever you have the time, you can ...... Oh, but remember, bring a gift for Arthur when you come. Old Adrian joked.

"Definitely. The two laughed happily.

Old Adrian raised his hand and lifted the barrier.

"Attention, hold tight!" said old Adrian. Before he could finish speaking, Arthur was already running forward and flapping his wings, and then kicked his hind legs violently, soared into the air, carrying them both freely through the woods, and then flew straight into the sky in a turn, trampling the trees far under his feet in an instant. Fortunately, they hugged Arthur's neck tightly so that he didn't fall.

Old Adrian watched them leave, and said to himself, "I think we will meet more often in the future." ”

By this time, the rain had stopped, and the dark clouds had gradually dissipated, and this was the first time that Alan had seen the whole picture of Beya.

The town was directly north of them, at the easternmost foot of the Serenity Mountains.

The Tranquility Mountains are basically southwest-northeast, and the Camus River originates in the southernmost foothills of the Tranquility Mountains, meandering southeast and eventually empties into the Blue Lagoon, which is not too far from their home.

The surface of the Blue Lagoon is sparkling, and the slightest hint of sunlight makes it look unusually dazzling, looking like a giant blue crystal.

Between the mountains and the lake there is a peaceful town that is truly picturesque.

Arthur was still flying eastward, and the cold wind was howling in their ears. The sun showed half of his face, and it was about ten o'clock in the morning, and the sun was a little harsh. By the time Alan looked down further, he could already see their house.

Alan patted Arthur on the neck and pointed in the direction of his house, and Arthur understood and began to slowly circle down.

No sooner had they landed in the courtyard than Mrs. Connor ran out of the drawing-room. She is in a hurry about the disappearance of Alan and Riel when she suddenly sees a strange large bird landing in their yard through the window. But when she came out and saw the two people on Arthur's back, she immediately cried with joy. The two children had sent Arthur away, and Mr. Connor had returned from looking for them, and they told the whole story.

I won't repeat them all.

That's how they met Greg Audrian when they were young. They still don't know what the faint blue-purple glow of the Camus River was, and then suddenly disappeared. But their adventure was very rewarding: two kind and reliable friends, a knowledgeable, humorous and thought-provoking white-bearded old man, and a phantom horse who loved to eat coecanths and would take them for a ride in the sky when the weather was nice.

This memory ends here for now, and we turn our attention to the present.

Now the family is seated at the table and ready to start dinner.

"Honey, why are you back so late today?" asked Mrs. Connor.

"Don't mention it, it's a strange thing......," said Mr. Connor, frowning slightly, "Old Gordon came to report early this morning, saying that he had discovered in the morning that one of his goats had been inexplicably missing, and Petri, who was on duty with me, went to his house to check and found that there was only a row of vague footprints leading to the other side of the mountain, except for a small pool of blood, and we had been looking around there all day today, without a clue. ”

"Footprints, what left behind?" asked Riel.

"I don't know, the footprints are not very clear, I can only see that they are about six toes. It had been raining last night, and I could only see clearly that it was two in a row, and the back heels were deep in the mud, and they looked quite large. ”

Ellen and Riel were drawn to the conversation between the Connor couple and were silent for a moment, then asked at the same time, "Is it ......?"

"What is it?" said Mr. Connor, a little surprised, not believing that he could hear any useful clues from their mouths.

"Uh...... Like, werewolves?" Alan said tentatively.

"Oh, why do you think of them and nothing else?" said Mr. Connor, who was even more surprised by their question.

The two of them looked at each other, and Riel said, "Uh...... Because just the other day, we just read about werewolves when we were reviewing the Catalog of Strange Creatures...... According to the book, they are the only carnivorous creatures that walk upright, have six toes on their hind feet, haunt the mountains, and like to eat goats. ”

"Oh, I see...... I can see that you two are very attentive to your homework and very thoughtful. Mr. Connor laughed, "But it's impossible." ”

"Why?" both asked at the same time.

After a slight pause, Mr. Connor continued, "For as far as I know, there are no werewolves in the Serenity Mountains, and not only in the Tranquility Mountains, but not even in the Little Black Mountains to the north and the Tumun Mountains that stretch for tens of miles, because they have long been driven to the northernmost Bitter Mountains, and are almost cut off from the rest of the world...... And most importantly, they live in groups...... Do you know what that means?"

Riel shook his head, but Alan immediately understood, "Oh, if it were a werewolf, there wouldn't be just a sheep missing...... It's a bunch!"

"That's right, if old Gordon's sheep had really encountered a werewolf, he wouldn't have come to report it this morning, but cried. Mr. Connor took a sip of the soup as he joked, turned to Mrs. Connor and said, "Honey, you may have forgotten to put salt in this soup today." ”